AMCTO conference celebrates resiliency, advocacy, networking
AMCTO President Paul Shipway lead the way during the opening ceremonies of the 2025 annual conference in Windsor, Ont. Photo: Greg Teckles
After a freestyle motocross accident left Kevin Rempel an incomplete paraplegic at the age of 23, he was told by doctors he would likely never walk again. Defying expectations, he not only regained mobility but also became a world-class athlete. He would go to win gold at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships.
Today, Rempel is a motivational speaker, sharing his journey of resilience and overcoming adversity to inspire others. Recently, that inspiration was shared with delegates at the 2025 AMCTO Annual Conference, in Windsor.
Some 450 people turned out for the conference, which kicked off Day 2 with an inspiring keynote address from Rempel. His keynote, “The Hero Mindset,” focused on the importance of resiliency and how every great journey can be achieved by taking just one step at a time.
That message seemed to resonate with the audience.
Kevin Krempel, a Paralympian and peak performance strategist, delivers the keynote address at the 2025 AMCTO annual conference. Photo: Sean Meyer
Paul Shipway is AMCTO’s president, as well as the general manager of strategic initiatives and innovation for the County of Middlesex.
Shipway celebrated Rempel’s message. He also applauded Rempel for coming in the day before his speech to meet with association members, who are made up of managers, clerks, and treasurers from across the province.
“Kevin was great. We’re very fortunate to have him here. I think [his message] dovetails great with the theme of the conference overall,” Shipway said, evoking the conference them of Building Bridges – Sparking Change. “We should celebrate our members. They do great work in the communities. They support council. And with that sort of message – the hero mindset – I think it resonated well with everyone in that room.”
Challenges from Queen’s Park
David Arbuckle, AMCTO’s executive director, joined Shipway in applauding Rempel’s message. Resiliency is a key topic of conversation for the association, Arbuckle said. And that resiliency is challenged quite often, whether by incivility from the public, from members of council, or the frustrations that stem from some of the changes brought forward by the provincial government.
Representing the province at the conference was Rob Flack, minister of municipal affairs and housing. Flack spoke with Arbuckle, Shipway, and other association representatives and staff before the conference’s official opening. He also spoke during the opening, detailing his newness to the role – including having a business background rather than experience in the municipal sector. Flack also touched on many of the legislative efforts being made by Premier Doug Ford.
Arbuckle acknowledged the Ford government is unlikely to move away from its signature actions, such as the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 or the recently passed Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025.
Still, he quickly added all AMCTO can do is be a sounding board for what’s happening at the local level. One of the key things in advocacy is the desire to drive change. But in municipal advocacy, sometimes it’s about having a voice and speaking to the membership, so they know the organization is speaking on their behalf.
But at the end of the day, Arbuckle said, the province is likely to follow the same path it is currently on.
“We want to make our voice clear (to the province), and we also want to make it clear to other associations as well. We want AMO (Association of Muicipalities of Ontario) to hear the voice that we have as municipal staff and see if they can use their influence in order to make some of those changes,” Arbuckle said. “I think it has had some effect on those elected associations as well. So we’re hopeful in that. But ultimately, the government’s going to do what they’re going to do and all we can do is look to continue to support our members the best way we can.”
Building Bridges – Sparking Change
This year’s conference, Arbuckle said, was being held during one of the most challenging times in the province’s recent history.
Whether that is the push-pull relationship with the province or the challenges drive by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, Arbuckle acknowledged Ontario municipalities find themselves in difficult circumstances.
Arbuckle emphasized the importance of coming together to share experiences and strategies for navigating the shifts in Ontario’s municipal legislation. Given the current political climate and evolving provincial-municipal dynamics, he stressed that while professional development, learning, and education are valuable, the most crucial aspect is networking and mutual support.
AMCTO’s membership, Arbuckle said, is always going to be in a mindset of they are supporting their councils and elected officials while also supporting the community as a whole.
“Ultimately, we’re asking them to lean on those values quite a bit,” Arbuckle said. “To say again, how are you going to work through some of these changes as municipal professionals and AMCTO is here to help you as you sort of move along that journey.”
Education, Support for Councils
The association plays a key role in providing educational materials and advocacy briefs for municipal councils. After all, staff are often far more informed on given topics than members of council.
With this in mind – and taking something like strong mayor powers as an example – Shipway said staff are working to identify and highlight the administrative challenges the legislation can have.
“Our staff, they’re professionals – they can take it back to their councils. And then on an association level, if people reach out, Dave and the staff here do an excellent job communicating those key points to them,” Shipway said. “The good thing about AMCTO is, yes, we’re giving a message, but the membership is giving us a message to respond to as well. So it’s two-way communication.”
Networking as Goal and Solution
Shipway said the conference bringing together some 450 municipal professionals from across Ontario shows the event is about making connections. But also, it will allow delegates to take what they have learned in the concurrent sessions, take it back to their communities, and make a difference.
Arbuckle agreed. He also emphasized that even making a single new connection or gaining insights from a session, workshop, or conversation can be valuable.
If attendees can take what they’ve learned and apply it later, it makes a meaningful impact.
“Maybe they’ll send an email to that person and say, look, this is what I’m dealing with, can you sort of help us out?” Arbuckle said. “It’s really those connections I’m hoping they take away from this.” MW
✯ Municipal World Executive and Essentials Plus Members: You might also be interested in Claire Sanders’s article: Building resilient communities.
Sean Meyer is digital content editor for Municipal World.
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